Moonlit Camellia
by phobo
Summary: Since when was Kid so utterly fascinated with Tsubaki? Before tonight, she had no idea he felt this way. T for language, alcohol abuse and mildly adult themes.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Black Star, hurry up! We're already running late!" I stood at the top of the steps of Gallows Mansion while waiting for my meister, who clearly has no sense of urgency.

"Alright Tsubaki, calm down," he yelled to me from the bottom of the steps. "How am I going to make an entrance if we're on time like everyone else? I need to attract attention, you know."

I stomped my foot on the cobblestone step. "Black Star, it's Kid's birthday! The attention should be on him, not you. And it's impolite to be late to someone else's birthday party!"

Once we were both standing in front of the large, black doors, Black Star let out a loud puff of breath. "The attention shouldn't be on me, huh? What's a star to do if it doesn't shine? You tell me, Tsubaki."

I suddenly felt bad for what I said to him. If I wasn't there to give him the encouragement he needed, who would? I leaned down towards him and put my hand on his shoulder. "How about you give yourself a little shade tonight, hm? You might shine so bright that all of the attention will be on you and no one will even notice Kid!" I gave him a reassuring smile.

He beamed up at me like he always does and began to chuckle. "Oh, of course! It's Kid's birthday right? I gotta share some of the spotlight!"

His confidence always made me giggle. "Yeah, right Black Star!"

Suddenly, the giant doors swung open in front of us and out stepped Death the Kid himself. "Hey you guys, how are you this evening?" He wore an all black tuxedo with platinum skull cuff links. As usual, he was sporting his metallic skull necktie and rings on either one of middle fingers. He definitely stayed true to his vow of symmetry, that's for sure.

I stood up and smiled sweetly at the Shinigami. "Oh, hi Kid! Happy birthday! It's great to see you!"

He looked me up and down for a minute, which made me feel a little self conscious. My hair was up in a messy bun and pieces of dark brown hair fell down the sides of my face. I was wearing a tight, camellia-colored dress that went down to my knees and two-inch white velvet pumps—on second thought, I could probably understand why he was looking at me so intently.

He graciously put his hand out for me, and I took it. "It's a pleasure to see you, Tsubaki. You look quite lovely tonight, I must say." He leaned down to kiss my hand, causing a blush to appear on my face.

Before I could say a word, Black Star jumped in front of me and grabbed Kid's wrist, forcing him to release my hand. "You're acting pretty bold tonight, Kid. What's up with that?" I could almost feel Black Star's hot, angry blood boiling up. What was he getting so worked up about anyway?

"Hey! Calm down, Black Star! He's just being polite!"

The grip Black Star had on Kid's wrist tightened and he seethed at him menacingly, but Kid only seemed to be amused by this act of territoriality. "To answer your question, I'd be a liar if I said I haven't had a few drinks tonight. Watch yourself, Black Star, or else your partner might find that you're just not competent enough for her skill set. She might start looking elsewhere." He shook his hand out of Black Star's death grip, straightened his suit jacket, and tottered back inside the manor.

Black Star watched Kid walk away with disgust painted on his face. He clenched his fists and looked down at the ground. "Tsubaki… you would never leave me, right? We're a team. I wouldn't be the big star I am without you."

I gazed at him with admiration. He looked so cute in his little tuxedo, even though it was probably a few sizes too big for him. "Are you kidding? You're the best teammate out there. I wouldn't be the flower I am if it wasn't for you." He turned back and looked up at me with a small, serious smile—the kind of smile that looked misplaced on him.

Regardless of Black Star's faults, I loved him anyway. I'm the only person in the world who could handle such a fiery-spirited star like him. He needed me, and I needed him just as much. I knew I wouldn't leave this partnership even if I wanted to, but in that moment there was one thing that stood out in my mind: Kid's performance out-shined Black Star's by far that night.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The ballroom was filled with friends and acquaintances from the DWMA. There was an alternative rock song blasting through the expensive speaker system and there were tables of food lined up along the walls. By the time we reached this area of the house, Black Star had forgotten about his hatred for drunken Kid and felt his stomach growling, so he decided to check out the buffet tables. I stood awkwardly at the entrance of the hall until I saw Maka and Soul running towards me.

"Hey Tsubaki!" Maka smiled as she pulled me in for a hug. "How are you? You look great!"

Hearing his meister say this, Soul unknowingly mimicked Kid's actions by analyzing my figure. "Wow, no kidding. Nice dress."

Maka glared at him and hit him upside the head with all of her strength. "Shut up, you pervert!"

I giggled nervously at the sight of their quarrel. "No, no, really, it's fine. Thank you both so much. But you two aren't the only ones who have complimented me—apparently Kid's had a drink or two tonight?"

Maka sighed. "Ugh, yeah. I would have never thought he'd be so annoying."

"Where did he even _get_ alcohol from? He only just turned 15." I asked thoughtfully.

"He said Liz got it for him, said she knows a guy," Soul snorted. "I only wish he would have thought of me when buying it. But I guess it's his birthday, he can get drunk if he wants to. Even if he's the only one getting drunk and making a fool of himself."

I laughed at Soul's harsh summation of Kid's situation. He was always funny, even when he wasn't meaning to be. "I suppose that's true. I just hope he doesn't hurt himself or get himself into any trouble."

"He's a Shinigami, he's not stupid," Soul retorted. "Besides, he's in a house full of sober people. What could possibly go wrong?"

Maka, turning away from us to look back at the crowd of people of the dance floor, announced, "Speak of the devil, here he comes."

Once he successfully pushed his way through the crowd, Kid jogged over to the three of us and squeezed in between Maka and Soul, resting his arms on either one of them. "Hey guys, how are you enjoying yourselves?"

"We're great Kid, except you didn't get me any fucking booze. That's totally not cool, dude." Soul shook his head in aggravation.

Surprisingly, Kid let out a boisterous laugh. "Oh Soul, how crass of you. Well, I hope you have a great rest of the night."

Letting go of his two friends, Kid then directed his attention to me. It felt as though his golden eyes were piercing through me—he had never looked at me with such intent before. As I felt my cheeks heat up, he took a step towards me and put his hand out. "Dance with me, Tsubaki. It's my birthday, after all." The serious look he was giving me fell apart, and a small, playful smile took it's place.

Forcing myself to let go of my inhibitions, I answered his invitation with a tender smile. "That sounds wonderful, Kid." The moment I placed my hand in his, his smile widened and he yanked me towards the center of the dance floor. From behind me, I could hear Maka and Soul muttering things like, "What does Kid think he's doing?" and "I hope Black Star doesn't see this…" Why wouldn't Black Star be okay with this? It's not like Kid was going to persuade me into being his weapon—I had already made it clear to Black Star that I was never going to leave him for anyone, even the Grim Reaper.

As we took our spots on the dance floor, he took both of my hands in his and gently pulled me into him. With a smirk and a wink, he slowly removed his hands from mine and placed them on my hips. Although I felt incredibly awkward, I didn't object. It was his birthday and he wanted to dance with me.

The beat of the song was slow and repetitive, making it easy for our movements to sync together. I pressed my hands against the back of his cold neck as our bodies swung to-and-fro melodically to the music. I stared above his head in order to avoid uncomfortable eye contact, but my peripherals told me that he could not take his eyes away from me. I wondered what was going through his head: was he gazing upon me with fascination, or was he simply infatuated with my appearance?

"You do look lovely tonight Tsubaki, I meant what I said." The sound of his soft, baritone voice brought me back down to earth as I looked back down at him in acknowledgement.

I smiled at him out of habit. "Why thank you Kid, you look pretty great yourself."

His footsteps began to slow—it was slight, but it was noticeable. "Do… do you really mean that?" His serious fixation on my face turned to dreamy wonder, his lips curling up in a light smile.

"Yes! You always look great Kid! It's obvious you try really hard." My smile didn't falter, although my skin felt like it was burning up beneath his misty gaze.

"Tsubaki…" For some reason, hearing my name roll off his tongue felt good, like sticking your hand in a stream of crystal clear, lukewarm water. His voice trailed off, and his smile fell. "I've had something I've wanted to say to you for quite some time… To be honest, the only reason I've been drinking tonight was so that I could muster up the courage to tell you."

His words caused the smile to fall from my face as well. "What could it possibly be? We're friends, Kid. You don't have to hide anything. I'm here for you."

He looked away from me and forced himself to smile, despite the fact that his soul seemed like it was falling to pieces. "It's foolish. You wouldn't understand. Your heart belongs with Black Star."

My heart belongs with Black Star? What a funny thing to say. Then again, Kid was a pretty funny guy himself. "Well, I'm not sure what you mean by that, but all I know is that nothing you say to me could possibly sound foolish. You're brilliant, Kid." He tilted his head back up at me, shooting me a starry-eyed gaze. Clearly what I had said to him had wiped away his doubts.

"Well, alright." He cleared his throat before he continued. By this time, we had almost stopped dancing completely. "Tsubaki... I just wanted you to know... that I—"

"—HEY GUYS, WHAT'S GOING ON OVER HERE?!" Black Star's obnoxiously loud voice was almost impossible to ignore. Kid's entire body froze at the sound of his voice. I quickly turned to face Black Star, although I kept a hand placed on Kid's back.

Black Star wasted no time in leaping over to Kid and getting in his face. "So Kid, how's dancing with my partner? Are you trying to steal her from me or something?"

Kid tilted his head down and began to stare at the floor. A soft "I'm sorry" was all he could muster.

"OH, you're sorry? Well then I guess it's fine! No need to cry over spilled milk, right? You'll never take Tsubaki away from me, you know. No one ever will! I'm her star! So you better get away from her before I—" I took my hand away from Kid's back and blocked Black Star from coming any closer to him.

"Black Star, what's your problem? Me and Kid were having a great time before you came and ruined it! We were just dancing!" A muffled sound escape Kid's mouth as he quickly dashed away from us. I turned to my left and called out to him. "Kid! Where are you going?" He didn't even look back at me.

"Don't worry about him, Tsubaki. I knew he was going to cause you trouble tonight." Black Star shrugged his shoulders in indifference.

"NO, Black Star! You know who's been causing me trouble tonight? YOU! It's Kid's birthday, you're supposed to be polite and courteous but all you've been is rude and disrespectful to him! You've ruined tonight for him, and you've ruined it for me! I can't believe you'd be so mean just because you're… jealous or something!" My face reddened as I yelled at my meister, something I've only done a handful of times.

"...Me? Jealous? Of him? Tsubaki, you're losing your mind. He's nothing compared to me. I thought you'd know this by now—no one's better than me." He glared at me defiantly. He thought I would shut up after that. He was wrong.

"Well, right now I would sure as hell rather be with him than you. You're acting like a child. Grow up, Black Star."

He looked back at me in utter shock. It seemed as though he didn't know how to respond to me. I didn't feel bad. He was deserving of this. "See you later," I said as I turned away, allowing thin strands of hair to fall from my loose bun.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

It felt odd, being so disregardful of Black Star. This was not how I would have handled any situation prior to that night, but for some reason I felt that it was needed. Kid just looked so… distressed. So saddened. What did he want to talk to me about, anyway? He made it seem like it was really important to him.

I'd been standing out on the large balcony for what felt like ages. It was sort of lonely, but I wasn't complaining. It gave me time to reflect upon what was going through my head when I lashed out at Black Star. The ambience of the nighttime air was light and refreshing—contrary to the chaos ensuing inside the house. I liked this better. I wasn't really a fan of loud music and large crowds, anyway.

I had to admit, I was enjoying how the breeze brushed past me like I was in it's way and how the moonlight bounced off my skin. I always found myself to be prettier in the darkness of the night.

When I told Black Star he was the best teammate I could ask for, I wasn't lying. We worked together so well on the battlefield, and our friendship never got tiresome or boring. Sometimes he's hard to handle, though. I looked up into the sky and silently wished that sometimes he could be like the stars in space—quiet, yet magical. I wished he could see that you don't have to be so outspoken in order to be beautiful.

"Tsubaki! Oh, I've been looking all over for you!" I turned away from the star lit sky and focused my attention on Kid, who was now staggering towards me and laughing to himself. It looked as if he was trying to drink himself to death.

"Hi Kid! Are you okay? I'm really sorry about what happened earlier, Black Star can be such an idiot sometimes!" I looked upon him with concern. I really did hope he was alright.

"Oh I'm fine, I'm fine! Well, much better now, anyway. You're even more beautiful than the last time I laid eyes on you!" He lurched forward and almost dumped himself onto me before steadying himself on the banister. He gazed up at me and stood up on his tippy toes to give me a small peck on the cheek. It seemed as though his drunkenness was making him all the more confident.

A soft pink blush formed on my porcelain cheeks. "Why thank you, Kid. That means an awful lot, but are you sure you're okay? Maybe I should put you in bed, you're really drunk." I put my hands underneath his armpits in order to try to carry him to his room. Once I got him off the ground, he attempted to wriggle his way out of my grasp.

"No, not yet! I still haven't told you what I was going to say!" He was starting to get mildly frustrated with me, so I put him down, but kept my hands on his shoulders so he wouldn't fall down.

"I'm all ears Kid, go ahead." I smiled at him tenderly while he looked upon me with that dreamy gaze once again.

"I… I-I…" His drunk-self was trying to blurt out what he wanted me to hear, while his sober-self was trying to keep the words from slipping out, in fear of what I would think of him.

"I LOVE YOU, TSUBAKI NAKATSUKASA!" Apparently, his drunk-self won. I didn't even have time to react before his hands slipped around my waist and he was pulling me into his soft embrace and his whiskey-tainted lips.

* * *

Who does Tsubaki think she is to talk down to me like that? Why does she feel like she has to keep me in check? I was trying to forget about the harsh words Tsubaki said to me by stuffing myself sick with as much food as I could at the buffet tables, but the pit in my stomach wouldn't go away. What was that feeling—was it regret?

No. Stars don't regret anything. Sorry you can't handle me, Tsubaki. Sorry I'm just too much for you. Sorry I get mad when another guy even _looks_ in your direction. Sorry I'm not a fan of sharing the one person who means everything to me. Sorry I'm not great at showing how I feel for you…

"Black Star? Hey, Black Star!" Clearly I'd dazed off for a second, because I hadn't even seen Patty standing in front of me, screaming at me and shaking her hands in front of my face wildly.

"Oh, sorry Patty. I'm just not feeling like myself right now." I didn't sound like a star tonight at all. I was off my game. She had way too much control over my emotions.

"It's okay!" She yelped happily. She was pretty funny, to be honest. "What happened, anyways?"

"Not much, just some stuff with Tsubaki. We don't really see eye-to-eye, you know?" Looking up at her, I realized she was actually pretty cute. She had her hair in tiny, blonde curls and she had a short, flowy baby blue dress on. The color of the dress almost matched her eyes.

"Oh, it's Tsubaki huh?" She looked at me with pure curiosity. "Well, I can help you forget about her!" She took a short curl between her fingers and played with it innocently.

I blushed at the slightly suggestive comment. "Uh, yeah? How's that?"

She lowered herself to my level and put her face near my ear. "I found some of that stuff that's been making Kid all loopy and I drank it. Now I feel all silly—do you wanna feel silly too?"

I smiled to myself. I never thought Patty would be such a great friend with such great ideas. "Yeah, that sounds like a good time to me."

She bounced up and grinned at me. "Okay, great!" She dragged me out of the dancehall and guided me up the stairs leading to her room.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Cheers!" Patty giggled when we clinked our bottles together. I had to admit, she could really handle her liquor. I wasn't trying to drink too much, just enough to forget about… what was I so upset about again?

"This is awesome," I burped. "Thanks for showing me a good time, Patty. I needed this."

She blushed at me and giggled again. "It's whatever, it's not like this stuff's even mine." She capped her bottle of whiskey and let it fall onto her pink satin sheets. Everything in her room was pink and white and glittery—too girly for a tough guy like me.

We were laying side by side on her bed, propped up by her overly plush pillows. As I was about to put the bottle up to my lips, I noticed her staring at me vacantly. I slowly turned my head to look at her and put the bottle in between my legs.

"Patty, wha—" As soon as I opened my mouth, she jerked toward me and grabbed my face, giving me the wettest, clumsiest kiss I thought I'd ever have in my life. Well, so much for thinking she could handle her liquor.

Even though I told myself I wasn't going to drink that much, my bottle was already half empty. When she pounced on top of me, I jumped up in surprise and the bottle smashed against her hardwood floor. Being as drunk as I was, the sound of the shattered glass only caught a fraction of my attention. I wasn't really sure what was going on, to be honest. All I knew was that I had a really cute girl straddling me and desperately exploring my mouth in any way she knew how, so for a second, I took advantage of that. I put my arms around her back and pulled her in close.

I didn't know what it was, but for some reason I really wanted to feel intimate with someone. It didn't matter who it was, I kinda just wanted to feel wanted, and Patty was giving that to me. She was making me feel like the biggest star in the sky.

I tried to make the kiss less aggressive by slowly licking around her lips, but this only provoked her to bite my bottom lip and suck on it until it hurt. I would have never guessed that Patty would be such a… _freak_.

I decided to pull away from the kiss and caress her neck instead. I sucked on one tiny patch of skin until I saw a light mark, then I flicked my tongue against it until I heard her high-pitched whines and felt her legs wring against me. I was questioning just how far this night would take us until she shook me off her neck, leaned down next to my ear, and sweetly whispered, "Black Star, I want you to have sex with me tonight."

I trembled nervously beneath her. All I had to do was kiss her neck, and all of a sudden she wanted to have sex with me? It didn't seem right at all. This isn't the kind of thing a guy like me takes very lightly. Regardless of how much I had to drink, I knew better than to spend my first time with a girl I didn't even care about that much. She's a great friend, but that's all she is—a friend. Anyway, what would my friends think of me if I went through with this? What would Tsubaki think?

Tsubaki. That's right.

"No." I whispered back. I pushed her off of me with more force than I intended and jumped off of the bed, stepping into the sticky mess on the floor from earlier. I heard her yelling to me, but I could barely hear her as I left the room. I had to get away from her. I had to find Tsubaki.

* * *

My chest felt like it was on fire. I knew it was wrong—it felt wrong. Forbidden, even. But Kid's sickeningly soft lips had me titillated and I simply couldn't pull away. So, this was what he wanted to tell me? How long had he been feeling this way?

He tugged on my bottom lip softly with his teeth before releasing me from the kiss.

"Kid!" My voice was breathier than I had anticipated. "Are you sure this is really how you feel? You're not thinking straight."

"My mind has never been clearer, my sweet camellia blossom! I have loved you ever since I can remember!" He has? Seriously? He could have asked me out on a date or something—I would have gladly accepted. Who would turn down a date with a Grim Reaper? But that was besides the point—no one has ever romanced me in such a way. In fact, I don't think a guy has ever even told me he thought I was beautiful. God knows Black Star's never tried to romance me, which is why I ruled out anything more than a friendship with him a long time ago. But drunk Kid was brave and daring and charming and blatantly in love with me. If sober Kid could act the same way, maybe…

"Kid, you're incredibly sweet. I don't think anyone's felt the way you do about me before, and I'd be lying if I said I'm not enjoying this, but we can't do this now. You're drunk and I don't want you to wake up in the morning and regret something we've said or done here. I think I can wait until tomorrow, can you?"

I kept my hands on his shoulders as he slouched down in disappointment. "I suppose you're right Tsubaki. My, you're so intelligent. That's just one of the many things that I love about you." There was a hint of sadness in his voice.

I smiled gently at the Shinigami and leaned down to kiss him on the forehead. I swear, the scene looked as if it came straight out of a movie. But when my lips touched his skin, I found his forehead to be abnormally hot. Maybe his reaper body wasn't taking the liquor too well.

"You're burning up, you really should go get some rest, you know," I said as I stood up, removing my hands from his shoulders.

"Alright, I shall," he huffed. "But tomorrow night at exactly 8 PM I am taking you on the most wonderful date you have ever been on! I will make you love me, Tsubaki!" His usually cold eyes glimmered with excitement.

I let out a quiet giggle in reaction to his outburst. "I think it's already working on me. Tomorrow night sounds lovely, I'll see you then."

He stood back up on his tippy toes and quickly planted one last kiss on my lips. He removed his hands from my waist and slowly wobbled away back into the mansion, all the while dreamily whispering "Tsubaki, Tsubaki…" over and over again.

I couldn't seem to pull myself away from the banister. I was overjoyed. Ever since I met Kid, I only seemed to think of him platonically. Being in a relationship with him never crossed my mind… was that what this was now? Was he my boyfriend? No, it was just a date. I wanted to see just how brave he'd be without alcohol coursing through his veins. Either way, I didn't want to move too quickly with him—I wanted to savor every moment. I really wouldn't mind looking into those intense, golden eyes for awhile.

"Tsubaki!" I turned my attention to the dancehall to see a heaving Black Star stumbling towards me. "I've been looking all over for you! I'm sorry for what happened before… I never wanna upset you ever again."

The moment I saw him, it was as if all my thoughts of Kid completely vanished. I'm always overwhelmed with bliss whenever Black Star and I are together, but the fact that he was apologizing for troubling me just made me that much happier to see him.

"Don't worry about it. Remember, you're my star." I brought him in for a hug, warming my heart and freezing my skin all at the same time.

"Tsubaki, can we head home? I really just wanna hang out with you. Let's watch a movie or something—I could make us some food." He looked away from me sheepishly.

I let out an airy giggle and freed him from my grasp. "Really? _You_ wanna cook tonight? Well, that would be just great, Black Star. Let's go home, my stomach's already rumbling."

After I said that, I swore I saw his eyes light up. It reminded me of the way Kid had been looking at me all night. He nodded at me in approval and flashed me his signature grin. Taking my hand in his, we waltz our way across the dancehall and glided out into the mild, breezy night.


End file.
